Technical Field
The invention relates to a cooling drum for cooling a thread plug in a texturing process, according to the claims provided herein.
Description of Related Art
A generic cooling drum for cooling a thread plug is known from DE 196 13 177 A1.
The known cooling drum has a drivable cooling jacket which on the circumference includes a plurality of air-permeable guide tracks for receiving a plurality of thread plugs that are guided beside one another. A suction chamber which by way of the suction connector is connected to a vacuum source is configured in the interior of the cooling jacket. A shielding means in the form of an aperture which covers a part-segment of the cooling jacket in which no thread plug is guided on the circumference is disposed within the suction chamber. Additionally, for improved air guiding, the cooling jacket also has separation webs that protrude radially into the suction chamber. In operation, a vacuum is generated within the suction chamber such that ambient air from outside the cooling jacket is suctioned, said ambient air perfusing and thus cooling the thread plugs. At the same time, the vacuum of the suction chamber causes the thread plugs to not be released from the guide tracks on the circumference of the cooling jacket. At the end of the cooling procedure, the thread plug on the circumference of the cooling drum is disintegrated so as to form a thread and is drawn off of the circumference of the cooling jacket at high speed.
In the case of the known cooling drum, the separation webs within the suction chamber that revolve conjointly with the cooling jacket lead to significant air turbulences and to an undesirable drop in pressure such that relatively high vacuums have to be generated in the suction chamber in order for sufficient cooling air to be able to be suctioned for cooling the thread plugs. Moreover, segment portions of large area on the cooling jacket have to be suctioned such that a significant proportion of external air enters the suction chamber. However, the high vacuums in particular impede the disintegration of the thread plug so as to form a thread. On account of the vacuum, the filaments of the thread are urged against the guide track and in part are drawn into the perforation. This leads to high stresses on the thread and to a reduction in the crimp of the thread.
Furthermore, upon the disintegration of the thread plug the thread is drawn across part of the guide track at a high thread speed. In this situation, the vacuum within the suction chamber generates a retention force that acts on the thread and increases the contact of the thread and thus the risk of abrasion and damage to the thread.